GUEST BLOG: JUDI FENNELL

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Getting The Call x 2

Thanks for having me back on Long And Short Reviews!

It’s been four years since I got The Call. And I still remember it as if it were yesterday.

Luckily, I’d had an inkling that it was coming. I mean, I’d been sitting with Deb Werksman (my editor at Sourcebooks) at a function in June and she’d been asking me to submit In Over Her Head to her. (I couldn’t because it had been in an online contest.) At that luncheon, I told her she had it in her email and she was very excited.

But then another woman at the table asked me if In Over Her Head wasn’t part of a series? (It helps to have a like-minded writer friend who’d fed me this line JUST so I could answer it in Deb’s presence. No, we didn’t plan it beforehand; she told me about it afterwards.) When I said that it was part of a series, Deb got VERY interested and demanded that I send her the proposals for the other two books as soon as possible.

Needless to say, I was very busy when I got home from that luncheon. Off went the proposals and within a month of that luncheon, I got an email from Deb saying she was taking the series into the editorial meeting. The meeting was Tuesday at 2 pm.

Now I had a timeline. You know what? I don’t know that knowing beforehand was actually a good thing because I could barely concentrate at work. Or at home. I couldn’t sleep.

Tuesday arrived. I left work at 2 (normal time) and couldn’t face going home to sit in front of my laptop and wait. I wasn’t going to get any writing done. So I went shopping.

Now, if you know me, you know that I LOATHE shopping. I still have no idea why I chose that activity that day. None at all. It’s completely out of character. But I went.

So, I finished my shopping at about 4 pm, got back in the car, figuring I could go home and check my email. I hadn’t gotten a phone call, so obviously it wasn’t good news.

I went to pull out of my parking spot and another car practically backed into the front of my car. I was a nervous wreck anyway; I didn’t need this. I was about to lay on the horn when I saw his/her license plate.

MER4EVR

I kid you not. I mean, here I was waiting on pins and needles about a merman story, and THIS is the person who almost hits me. I’m a big believer in the Universe talking to you… I listened.

For some reason, I glanced at the clock as the MER car drove off. No clue why, I just did.

I drove home, thinking maybe I was going to get good news after all.

I fired up the laptop, checked my email and lo-and-behold, there was an email from Deb. Subject line: We want to publish you!!!

The time on the email? The EXACT time I’d looked at the clock after the near-accident with MER car.

God’s honest truth, the whole story. Sometimes things are just meant to be.

Flash forward to the sale of my second series to Deb. We’d talked about finishing up the other2 books in the Mer series (Marianna and Pearl’s stories), when my publisher, director of sales, Deb and I were standing around at the Sourcebooks booth at BEA, and the director of sales asked me what was next. I mentioned the other Mer books but then said I had an idea for a genie series, something along the lines of “I Dream of Genie meets Indiana Jones.” Everyone’s mouths dropped open with a collective, “awwww,” and Deb said, “Write it. That’s what we want.”

Voila! The Bottled Magic series was born. And the final one in that series hits the shelves this month: Magic Gone Wild. It’s the story of a not-quite-got-it genie named Vana. Short for Nirvana Aphrodite, she knows it’s a lot to live up to. And, sadly, she doesn’t. Her magic is screwy, she ruined her previous master’s reputation, and now she’s put the new one, Zane Harrison, at risk for the same sort of ridicule and rumor. But then the Fates step in (literally) and, well, it is a romance after all.

Here’s an excerpt from Magic Gone Wild:

Zane Harrison stared at the woman on the other end of the scimitar and tried to remember exactly how he’d come to have a sword pointed at his chest.

“Holy smokes!” The woman sucked in a breath, clamped a hand over her mouth, and dropped the sword.

Right on top of him.

The pommel conked him on the head and the blade spun around, almost taking off his nose.

Zane leapt to his feet and grabbed the sword in one movement, the hours spent in football training drills thankfully having real-world application, although he’d never imagined it’d be to defend his life during a trip back to his ancestral home in the middle of nowhere.

Then he got a good look at the woman. A more unlikely assassin he’d never seen. Hand-to-hand combat was not the ideal way to handle this situation; hand to mouth was. Or rather, mouth to mouth.

The woman was gorgeous. Movie-star gorgeous. Playmate gorgeous. Even in a fencer’s outfit—which was about as asexual as you could get—with curves straight out of his most vivid erotic fantasy, eyes the shimmering silvery-gray color of the sky before a storm that promised every bit as much of a wild ride, and hair the color of a mink that Zane wanted to sink his fingers into and never let go, the woman was absolutely stunning. And he was most definitely stunned. But not only by her looks.

Zane would hate to see what she called a bad day if a good one was ending up on the wrong end of a sword. “Who are you, and what the hell is this?” He shook the sword.

She licked her lips—more centerfold fodder. They were plump and pink and now wet.

Hmmm, maybe it was a good day.

“I’m Vana, and that’s a scimitar.” Her expression was crestfallen and her sigh heartbroken. “I couldn’t even manage a rapier.”

Which made about as much sense as anything else.

MAGIC GONE WILD BY JUDI FENNELL – IN STORES AUGUST 2012

Every Time She Uses Magic Something Goes Terribly Wrong…

Vana wishes she hadn’t dropped out of genie training. Now she’s determined to get a grip on both her genie magic and her life. But the harder she tries to fix things for her intriguing new master, the more she drives him crazy…

Except There’s Nothing Ever Wrong About Him…

Pro–football player Zane Harrison finally has control of the family estate and is determined to put to rest his grandfather’s eccentric reputation. Until he discovers that behind all the rumors is a real, live genie who stirs feelings in him he’s never known before. The more Zane tries to help Vana harness her powers, the more her madcap magic entangles his heart…

ABOUT THE AUTHOR:

Judi Fennell is the award-winning author of six light paranormal romances, including a trilogy of Mermen-inspired love stories, and three genie-inspired romances. Wild Blue Under won the PRISM Award for Best Light Paranormal from the Paranormal Chapter of Romance Writers of America. A former corporate meeting and convention planner, Judi now writes full time around the hectic schedules of her husband and teenagers. She lives in suburban Philadelphia, PA. For more information, please visitwww.JudiFennell.com.

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Review Star Rating Definitions

1 Star – We currently do not review any story with a 1 star rating. If it’s DNF or a “wall-banger” we decline to review.

2 Stars — Not wonderful, but tolerable. There may be some minor editing glitches but not enough to stop you reading. Not a wall-banger, but nothing you’d re-read. This is a book you would borrow from the library – not buy- and never check out again. You might recommend it to a friend with a mention of the glitches, knowing that something in the plot or story would still appeal to them regardless.

3 Stars — Good. Mostly enjoyable. You made it through and didn’t consider it a waste of time or money. The story was strong enough or the conflict tight enough, so even when the book faltered, it was able to draw you back in and keep you. There’s a chance you’ll recommend it to a friend, but it wouldn’t go on your keeper shelf.

4 Stars — Very Good. You’re glad you were the one who got to review the book. You would probably buy it and would definitely recommend it to your friends. You liked the characters and the plot. The writing style was good and the editing clean.

5 Stars — Great! You would definitely buy this book. You would definitely recommend it to your friends. You really loved the characters and the plot and would consider looking for this authors back list or making her an autobuy. The writing and editing were superb.

LASR Best Book – For a book or story that is truly exceptional. You think about it when you’re not reading it. You wonder what happens to the characters when you finish. You would absolutely buy everything else this author had to offer. The highest praise – and reserved for only a few.

Review Heat Level Descriptions

SWEET: no visual love scenes and no descriptive kissing;

SENSUAL: Contains a high degree of sexual tension, steamy kisses and passionate clinches, but all fully consummated love scenes will be implied, not described, and with the bedroom door firmly closed.

SPICY: Contains actual love scenes and may include detailed descriptions of foreplay and consummation.

HOT: Contains sizzling and very detailed love scenes throughout and graphic, explicit content which may be offensive to some.

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Most books reviewed on this site have been provided free of charge by the publisher, author or publicist. On occasion, we review books we have purchased with our own money or borrowed from a public library. Any links to places to purchase books are provided as a convenience, and do not serve as an endorsement by this blog. All reviews are the true and honest opinion of the blogger reviewing the book. The method of acquiring the book does not have a bearing on the content of the review.